Peter Lyon
April 26, 2025
Joining Nio’s Onvo division, the introduction of the carmaker’s new sub-brand, Firefly, was marked by the debut of the ‘Nio firefly,’ a fully-electric (EV) model at the Auto Shanghai 2025. And yeas, ‘firefly’ gets a lower case “f”.
With a starting price of RMB119,800 (about RM72k) in China, delivery is anticipated by the end of April 2025. Targeting 16 countries, Nio also has big plans for the Firefly abroad. Europe will launch in the summer, followed by a global rollout including several as yet unconfirmed countries in Southeast Asia.
The firefly is a small hatchback that is basically the same size as a Dongfeng Box, a small EV hatchback that was introduced in Malaysia at the end of last year.
Surprisingly penned at Nio’s design HQs in Munich, Germany, the firefly’s distinctive “trio lights” headlight arrangement is perhaps its most notable feature—giving it a very concept car type of appearance. Despite having a bug-eyed appearance, we think it more closely resembles the eyes of a spider than a firefly.
One thing’s for sure—it stands out in the present sea of bland looking EVs with its unique minimalistic design traits which mimic the face of an insect.
The Nio firefly has an amazing 27 storage spaces inside, including a glove box and a centre console drawer, despite its tiny size. Additionally, there are 29-liter storage bins underneath the back bench and storage bins behind the front passenger seat.
Additional inside innovations include a digital rearview mirror, a 256-color ambient lighting system, a 14-speaker sound system, a 13.2-inch touchscreen infotainment display, and a 6-inch letterbox-style display for the driver’s digital gauge cluster.
In addition to supporting over-the-air (OTA) upgrades, the firefly’s infotainment system features clever multi-touch “blind control” motions for modifying commonly used settings like music volume and climate control.
An internal electric motor with 143 horsepower and 200 Nm of torque, positioned on the back axle, powers the Firefly. This corresponds to a top speed of 150 km/h and a conservative 0-100 km/h time of 8.1 seconds.
A 42.1 kWh lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) battery pack powers the electric motor, which has a 330 km (WLTP) range. According to Nio, the Firefly’s range in urban driving circumstances can reach 470 km (WLTP).
The firefly’s detachable battery pack design is another noteworthy feature. Nio’s specialised battery swap stations are expected to make this possible. Starting in 2026, the firefly is expected to make use of the company’s fifth-generation stations.
The Nio firefly can be charged conventionally with AC up to 11 kW and DC up to 100 kW, allowing for a 10% to 80% recharge in 29 minutes. In terms of safety features, it has 20 sensors, cameras, and a 128 TOPS CPU that powers advanced driver assistance features (ADAS); we can also expect it to support Level 3 self-driving.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
The firefly’s cutesy design certainly turns heads. But we think the car’s plethora of ADAS systems and that battery swapping ability will generate the most interest. Other than debuting in Europe this year, Nio has confirmed that the Firefly will be launched in Singapore where a right-hand drive (RHD) variant of the Firefly will be ready by October 2025.
